California Real Estate Headline Roundup

Posts Tagged ‘Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey’

Today’s News Synopsis:

More and more millennials are opting to purchase houses as opposed to renting with the increases in rental prices. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported mortgage applications increased 9.5% in the last week. Freddie Mac released a list of the top 5 metropolitan areas that are showing signs of improvement.

In The News:

“Americans in their 20s and early 30s are getting a nudge toward homeownership a decade after sales peaked during the housing bubble. It’s not their nagging parents. It’s rents. They’ve risen so much that buying is making more sense.”

“Nationstar Mortgage (NSM) investors aren’t happy about its offering of 17.5 million of common stock – the mortgage nonbank is down close to 10% in morning trading after it announced yesterday common stock offering for gross proceeds of approximately $500 million.”

“Since Republicans gained control over Congress last year, mortgage professionals have been vying for a change to one of the industry’s biggest regulations—the Dodd-Frank Act. Now, a coalition of 10 banks have come together to make the pitch that they should not be held to all regulatory restrictions in Dodd-Frank.”

“A hard slog of a markup day continues Wednesday into early afternoon as the House Financial Services Committeemoves ahead with the often tedious work of marking up 11 key regulatory relief bills, of which several could have a big impact on mortgage lending and mortgage finance.”

“As the weather warms up so should the housing market, according to the January report from Freddie Mac. A harsh winter put a damper on housing, with the updated Multi-Indicator Market Index falling to 74.6, indicating a weak housing market overall and showing a slight decline (-0.20%) from December to January and 3-month decline of (-0.37%).”

“The Chinese government and central bankers ran a Ponzi scheme to accelerate real estate development to help China catch up to the rest of the world. Unfortunately, since it was a Ponzi scheme, they couldn’t figure out a way to unwind it without devastating their economy, so they kept putting more and more money into it, hoping desperately that it would work itself out.”

“European investors seeking to buy into the U.S. mortgage market will now have that opportunity, after Fannie Maeannounced that it plans to list all of its outstanding risk-sharing mortgage bonds on the Irish Stock Exchange.”

Looking Back:

In a big news story, Edward Demarco stepped down as acting director of the FHFA after almost six years in office. The latest S&P/Case-Shiller Index showed home prices increased 13.2% in January in 20 cities in the U.S. The HARP program, which originally turned many away, helped refinance almost 370,000 investment properties and was drawing more consumers.

Today’s News Synopsis:

Housing starts dropped drastically in February, leaving analysts scratching their heads and speculating it may have been a decrease in labor. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported a 3.9% decrease in mortgage applications from last week. Billions of dollars are being given to nonprofit company NeighborWorks America to help bring relief to Americans, however it is appears the process the organization is utilizing is very disorganized and disorderly.

“Housing analysts are still trying to figure out why housing starts nose-dived in February. Privately owned housing starts in February plummeted 17%, down to an annualized 897,000 from the revised January estimate of 1,081,000, with drops in the Northeast, Midwest and West leading the collapse.”

“Hoping to deliver relief to Americans pounded by the financial crisis, the government has poured billions of dollars into a sort of Red Cross for homeowners. NeighborWorks America, a nonprofit chartered by Congress, distributes much of that money to counseling groups that dispense mortgage advice and sometimes financial aid.”

“In early March, Ocwen Financial Corp. had said it was on track to sell the servicing rights for mortgages with a balance of $55 billion. The firm had previously announced that it had sold almost $10 billion of those rights to Nationstar, but it didn’t identify who was acquiring the other $45 billion.”

“The Five Star Institute President and CEO Ed Delgado announced earlier today at the Five Star Government Forum in Washington, D.C., that the Institute would be partnering with the nation’s leading online real estate marketplace, Irvine, California-based Auction.com, and national nonprofit Operation Homefront in support of a home donation program that provides mortgage-free homes to veterans.”

“Employers are struggling to hire from out-of-town in some U.S. markets due to the high cost of housing. New York is particularly problematic and it’s prompting some people to live in illegally cramped shares.”

“Mortgage lenders and others told the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit that the mortgage industry needs regulatory relief, or else borrowers – especially lower income and minority borrowers – will continue to be left out.”

“India-based IT firm DhanInfo followed up last October’s move into a new office complex in Nagpur that can house up to 600 employees with more expansion in order to meet the mortgage industry’s growing demand for reputable, reliable, and accurate property preservation and data processing outsourcing and Internet marketing.”

Today’s News Synopsis:

In a recent ruling by the Supreme Court, loan officers can now be eligible to work full-time and be paid overtime. In his latest speech before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, HUD Secetary Julian Castro said changes and increased to HUD’s budget should benefit more Americans by helping them guarantee owning a home. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported a 1.3% decrease in mortgage applications from last week.

In The News:

“The Community Mortgage Lenders of America wants the Federal Housing Finance Agency to lower the costs of mortgages by cutting g-fees. The trade association says it’s time for FHFA Director Mel Watt to exercise his authority and have Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae lower the guaranty fees and loan level fees they levy.”

“Two similar pieces of legislation introduced last month in the House and Senate that would extend tax relief to homeowners who are underwater on their mortgage loans have been referred to committees and are waiting to be heard.”

“Financial manias are costly to society because they divert scarce resources away from productive ends toward wasteful enterprises that consume resources without creating any real value. If we could identify asset bubbles and eliminate them before they started, our economy would more efficiently allocate the resources available.”

“The National Financial Conditions Index ticked down to –0.73 in the week ending March 6. The risk, credit, and leverage subindexes decreased slightly from the previous week, while the nonfinancial leverage subindex was unchanged.”

“The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this week that mortgage loan officers are now eligible to a 40-hour work week and overtime pay. The decision itself reversed a 2006 decision by the Department of Labor that changed loan officers to exempt status.”

“U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro testified in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations today regarding the HUD budget for the 2016 fiscal year, emphasizing the new budget will be used to help more Americans secure a home. The proposed budget would increase $4 billion from last year to a total of $49.3 billion. HUD’s budget proposes more than $21 billion for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, which Secretary Castro said would extend support to more than 2.4 million low-income families.”

“A new white paper from a Boston attorney who represents several clients in the housing economy in New England suggests that an interest rate hike may come later in 2015 than most think, and it may not be a net negative for several segments in the industry.”

Looking Back:

The amount of mortgage credit available increased slightly the previous month by 0.44% to 113.5, up from 113.0 in January. The Wells Fargo Economics Group released a report showing that jobs decreased in January by 31,600, the largest month-over-month decrease in five years. Due to the decreasing availability of real estate acquisition margins, more investors were choosing to purchase non-performing loans.

Today’s News Synopsis:

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported mortgage applications increased only slightly from last week by 0.1%. New data from the Census Bureau showed homeownership rates were at their lowest in 20 years in 2014. JP Morgan Chase just reached a settlement of $50 million regarding robo-signing.

“Homeownership rates in 2014 were the lowest they have been in over 20 years, according to new information released by the U.S. Census Bureau. In the Midwest, homeownership rates were highest at 68.3% and lowest in the West at 58.6%.”

“Most people recognize the GSEs should be eliminated because their implied government backing is now explicit. These entities are not private entities, although many private investors would like them to be so they could profit off the government guarantee.”

“Post-closing services provider Nationwide Title Clearing, Inc. (NTC) has announced the hiring of Gina Morales, APR, as VP of Marketing. In her new position with NTC, Morales will be responsible for creating and implementing effective integrated marketing and public relations programs regarding NTC’s mission to protect homeowners and preserve land records.”

“The official employment situation report for February will come out on Friday, but in the meantime two early metrics suggest job creation slowed in February. ADP sees slowing for Friday’s February payrolls, estimating that private payrolls rose 212,000 which is 8,000 below consensus for the ADP report.”

“As much as Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray tried to used his most recent semi-annual report to Congress to boast about recent achievements of the bureau in the mortgage industry, Republicans appeared not pleased.”

“Citigroup is preparing to pay approximately $20 million to thousands of homeowners who were eligible to receive compensation as part of the Independent Foreclosure Settlement reached between the government and 10 mortgage servicers two years ago over loan servicing and foreclosure procedure violations, according to media reports.”

Looking Back:

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported commercial and multifamily delinquency rates decreased 0.01 percentage points to 0.05% in the fourth quarter. Another bank closed in Pennsylvania, putting the number of bank closures for 2014 at 5. HUD secretary Shaun Donovan had just released the newest proposed budget for 2015.

Today’s News Synopsis:

New home sales continue to hold high at six years with 481,000 properties being purchased last month and having increased by 21% since last July. Mortgage delinquencies decreased again in the fourth quarter by a rate of 5.68%. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both posted decreasing profits recently, raising more awareness of additional housing finance reform.

“Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are close to reaching a deal with federal litigators regarding allegations the two Wall Street companies mislead investors in mortgage bonds that decreased in value during the economic downturn.”

“New-home sales in January held close to the fastest pace in more than six years, consistent with slow and steady progress that’s been the hallmark of the U.S. housing market since early 2012. Americans purchased 481,000 properties at an annualized rate last month, little changed from the 482,000 pace in December that was the strongest since June 2008, Commerce Department data showed Wednesday in Washington. Since a lull in July, sales of new homes have climbed 21 percent.”

“Foreclosure inventory was way down nationwide year-over-year in January despite a 5.5 percent month-over-month increase in foreclosure starts, according to Black Knight Financial Services’ First Look at January Mortgage Data.”

“At 11.97%, the composite National Mortgage Risk Index for Agency purchase loans, compiled by the AEI’s International Center on Housing Risk, hit a series high in January, up 0.4 percentage point from the average for the prior three months and 0.8 percentage point from a year earlier.”

“The share of distressed sales in December reached a seven-year low, according to the latest data from CoreLogic. The data reported distressed sales (REO and short sales) accounted for 12.8% of total home sales nationally in December 2014, a 2.8 percentage point decrease from December 2013, and a 1.2 percentage point decrease from November 2014.”

“At the most basic level, lenders, realtors, and borrowers inflated a housing bubble because they got everything they asked for. From 2004 to 2006, there were no barriers whatsoever to completely real estate transactions as inventory was abundant, prices were financeable, and buyers were motivated. It was the best of all possible real estate markets.”

Looking Back:

In order to sell off their REO properties, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac allowed both real estate agents and homebuyers accest to limited-time incentives established through two separate programs. Despite new QM guidelines put in place by the CFPB, risk continued to remain high for mortgages. Katie Reynolds Johnson was chosen as the new general counsel for the National Association of Realtors.

Today’s News Synopsis:

The Mortgage Bankers Assocation reported a 9% decrease in mortgage applications from last week. Overall home sales are showing promising increases in various cities with pending sales up 6.2%, closed sales at 4.5%, median sales prices at 4.1%, and active inventory at 17.9%. FHA officials are in talks to cut down on penalties for mortgage application mistakes in an attempt to increase credit.

“In his first time to testify before Congress since being named HUD Secretary last July, Julián Castro on Wednesday defended the decision to lower FHA mortgage insurance premiums and predicted that the agency’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund would exceed the required 2 percent ratio within two years.”

“Is the influx of Chinese money is based on sustainable fundamental factors? I don’t think so. In my opinion, this is hot money escaping an inflated and collapsing market, subject to the policy whims of an unpredictable totalitarian government.”

“Attorneys for New York-based megabank Morgan Stanley made a motion in the New York Supreme Court Tuesday to have two lawsuits filed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) accusing the bank of failing to buy back $2.5 billion worth of faulty residential mortgage-backed securities, according to media reports.”

“According to a recent report released by LendingTree, down payment percentages for conventional 30-year, fixed-rate purchase mortgages increased in the fourth quarter to an average of 17.59%, up from 16.01% a year ago”

Looking Back:

This day was a big day for mortgages. The latest report from Zillow showed mortgage rates increased again with 30-year rates at 4.13% and 15-year rates at 3.13%. In addition, consumer confidence in regards to obtaining mortgage credit was at an all-time high as more consumers felt confident they would have easier access to mortgage credit. Finally, the amount of mortgage credit available increased in January by 1.85% month-over-month.

Today’s News Synopsis:

In an update from Mel Watt’s meeting before the Congress yesterday, he is in support of 3% down mortgage payments as well as increase access to credit. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported mortgage applications decreased 3.2% from last week. More and more homeowners are choosing to live in suburban neighborhoods.

“Although home prices are rising faster in urban neighborhoods, population is growing faster in suburban neighborhoods. Consumer preferences and the aging of the population are tailwinds for suburban growth; so are falling oil prices if they stay low long-term, according to Trulia.”

“In the weeks since the Obama administration announced that it was directing the Federal Housing Administrationto reduce annual mortgage insurance premiums by 50 basis points, from 1.35% to 0.85%, housing industry observers have each begun to share their prognostications about what the real impact of the FHA’s action will be.”

“Mel Watt, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), defended his efforts to expand credit access as overseer of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in a heated, four-hour hearing before Congress Tuesday.”

“More than 18,000 homeowners in North Carolina have saved their homes as a result of a statewide foreclosure prevention effort, according to a release from the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency (NCHFA).”

“Homebuilding usually leads the economy out of recession. The Great Recession did not end with a building boom largely because of overbuilding during the housing bubble. A false price signal triggered excessive homebuilding, and it took five years to work off the inventories.”

Looking Back:

Both the Standard and Poors and Case-Shiller indices indicated home prices increased by over 13% year-over-year, although month-over-month they decreased slightly by 0.1%. U.S. loan delinquencies increased slightly by 0.26% month-over-month, although year-over-year they decreased by 9.85%. Fixed-rate mortgage were becoming less popular with the increase in interest rates, leading to adjustable-rate mortgages gaining more popularity.

Today’s News Synopsis:

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported an increase in mortgage applications by 14.2%. Housing starts increased 4.5% month-over-month and exceeded expectations for the fourth straight month. Demand for multifamily homes is expected to stay strong this year with the increase in demand according to the latest NAHB report.

In The News:

“Building permits dropped for the second month in a row, down 1.9% in December and missing expectations of a 0.6% rise. Permits posted a year-over-year increase of just 1%, the weakest growth since mid-2011.”

“Builders broke ground in December on the most single-family homes in almost seven years, propelling an unexpectedly large gain in U.S. housing starts that signals construction will contribute more to economic growth in 2015.”

“The multifamily market has had strong demand in recent years and is set to remain that way in 2015 despite certain headwinds that could affect the industry, said panelists during a press conference at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) International Builders’ Show (IBS) in Las Vegas.”

“Concrete housing initiatives were absent from President Obama’s State of the Union speech Tuesday night, although he made several references to the improving economy, and indirectly praised the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.”

“The 55+ housing market fared quite well in 2014, and 2015 should be no different, according to industry experts at a press conference held today at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) International Builders’ Show (IBS) in Las Vegas.”

“Whenever a purchase or refinance transaction amount exceeds 80% of the value of a property, the lender will force the borrower to purchase private mortgage insurance — not for the borrower’s benefit, but for the banks benefit.”

Looking Back:

The DuPage National Bank in Chicago was recently closed, marking the first bank closure of 2014. Many in the industry were opposed to the news lending rules put into effect by the CFPB despite their efforts to lower the default and foreclosure risk and make mortgage-lending easier. Competition was getting fierce with the continued decreases in mortgage originations, community banks being the most competitive.

Today’s News Synopsis:

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported a 9.1% decrease in mortgage applications from two weeks ago. President Obama will be speaking in Phoenix tomorrow on the potential lowering of FHA premiums by 50 basis points. JPMorgan Chase is on the list of bidders to obtain Facebook’s Dublin Office.

In The News:

“President Obama may announce an executive action to lower Federal Housing Administrationpremiums by as much as 50 basis points during his speech tomorrowin Phoenix, in the run up to his State of the Union address.”

“SunTrust Banks announced it will take a $145 million charge against its fourth-quarter earnings for legal expenses related to a federal inquiry into its handling of problem mortgages and foreclosures.”

“Last year Bold California housing market predictions for 2014, was the most widely read post of the whole year. In that post, I made a number of predictions, some good, some bad, but the bold predictions were all outside the consensus.”

“Calling the mortgage process “fun” may be a bit extreme, especially given the complexity. However, is the idea of making the mortgage process enjoyable, or at the very least painless, completely far fetched? Given the results seen in other industries, excellence is a concept that consumers are beginning to understand and relate to.”

Looking Back:

The latest CoreLogic reported showed home prices increased 11.8% in November 2013. The amount of mortgage credit available increased only slightly the previous month by 0.6%, but overall remained relatively the same. The NAHB reported that more Americans were choosing to build larger and more expensive homes.

Today’s News Synopsis:

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported a 3.3% decrease in mortgage applications from last week. This was a big day for new bills. The FHA established the HAWK program in order to help those with FHA loans save money. The Senate passed the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 that will extend 55 provisions on taxes.

“Gas companies and homeowners hoping to strike it rich by mining the oil and gas reserves buried deep beneath the ground of the state of New York are officially out of luck, because New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, has just banned the oil and gas extraction process known as fracking throughout New York.”

“Former Countrywide Financial Corp. executive Edward O’Donnell will get $57 million for his part in bringing a whistle-blower lawsuit against Bank of America Corp. that helped the U.S. force the lender to pay almost $16.7 billion to settle mortgage fraud charges..”

Looking Back:

The NAHB reported builder confidence for new single-family homes increased by four points to 58. The increase in home prices led to 791,000 properties being brought out of negative equity, although 6.4 million remained underwater. The FHFA reported HARP refinances decreased in the third quarter to less than 900,000 despite the increase in interest rates.